For Kingston, Ont., city councillor Greg Ridge, the pain of food insecurity is personal.
When Ridge was eight years old, his dad was hurt on the job and had to go on disability. Ridge said he recalls wondering why his grandparents were suddenly dropping off groceries and his parents were talking in hushed tones about money.
“I remember once in the kitchen my mom was crying, and I went over and I gave her a hug and I said, ‘Mom, it’s going to be OK,'” the King’s Town councillor said, fighting tears of his own.
“These are things that they stay with you for the rest of your life.”
Ridge and the rest of Kingston’s city council say the problem is so severe they declared it an emergency during last week’s council meeting.
“People are drowning. They’re under water,” said Ridge. “They’re working and doing the best that they can … but it’s not enough. We as a municipality are doing what we can, but it’s not enough.”
Public health units across eastern Ontario describe food insecurity — being unable to afford food wanted or needed for good health because of financial constraints — as a growing struggle across the region.
Rachael Mather, a dietitian with the South East Health Unit, said roughly one in three households in the Kingston area experienced food insecurity in 2023.
Parents skip meals to feed kids
“We are seeing a significant increase in food insecurity locally,” she said, adding the issue is also spiking nationally.
Mather pointed to numbers from Statistics Canada and research program PROOF Canada, which found food insecurity estimates across the country were the highest in nearly 20 years.
The impacts of food insecurity range from worrying about how to pay for healthy food to going days without it, according to the dietitian.
That forces some people to skip meals, or parents to forgo eating in order to make sure their kids have a meal, but even then there are consequences, she explained.
“We know that children in food insecure households [are] more likely to suffer from poor mental health and depression and suicidal thoughts later in life,” said Mather.
Meal program buys new high chair
At Martha’s Table, a meal program in Kingston, staff see the realities of food insecurity every day.
Executive director Ronda Candy said the organization has seen a steady rise in users for years, but that’s jumped “300 per cent” since the COVID-19 pandemic.
That “unprecedented growth” means feeding people “from all walks of life, people that are employed, people that are unhoused and everything in between,” said Candy.
One symbol of that change is a new high chair Martha’s Table just bought in order to serve some of its smallest clients.
“Seeing children, youth, toddlers, babies coming in is very emotional,” said Candy. “We know that the need is out there, but to see it on the front line is very challenging.”
Toronto and Mississauga have also declared food insecurity emergencies. They, along with Kingston, are calling on upper levels of government for help.
The motion at city council, put forward by Kingscourt-Rideau Coun. Brandon Tozzo and seconded by Ridge, asks the province to boost social assistance rates to meet basic needs, increase funding for school meal programs and establish a guaranteed livable basic income.
8:28Food Bank Providers React to Kingston’s Food Insecurity Emergency
The City of Kingston has declared a food insecurity emergency. What does this mean for food banks and local food programs on the front lines of this crisis? Dan Irwin from Partners in Mission Food Bank and Ronda Candy from Martha’s Table respond to this declaration.
According to a statement to CBC by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, the provincial government has increased Ontario Disability Support Program rates by 17 per cent, tied it to inflation.
It also highlighted tax credits and its move to raise the minimum wage to $17.20, while pointing to its ongoing investments in student nutrition programs and a recent partnership with the federal government.
Ridge said he hopes Kingston’s emergency declaration sounds the alarm and ensures food insecurity is front and centre when voters ponder their choices in upcoming elections.
But mainly, he said, it’s a way for the municipality to exhaust every option in order to help those most in need.
“That’s what this motion is trying to do,” said the councillor. “Let’s make tomorrow a better day for everybody.”